1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a header connector for fixing to a printed circuit board and, more particularly, to a header connector with stabilizing means for holding the header connector vertical while its terminal pins are soldering to the printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the advent of the printed circuit board, electrical components have generally been fixed to boards by soldering the component leads to a printed electrical pattern on the board. Often times, component leads extend through holes which have been defined in the board and are soldered into the holes.
One of the problems commonly encountered in soldering operations is maintaining the components in the desired position or orientation during assembly and soldering. Various attempts have been made to solve this problem, especially for header connectors having a single row of terminal pins. The problem with such header connectors is they have a relatively small base area and tend to rock to the side thereof if they have no reliable stabilizing means. Such header connectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,900,276 and 4,575,176.
Referring to FIG. 5, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,276 discloses a pin header 1 for soldering to a printed circuit board 17. Said pin header 1 comprises a dielectric housing 15 and a single row of terminal pins held in the housing 15. The terminal pins include a pair of crimped terminal pins 12A and 12B forming insertion ends 13A and 13B, respectively, for insertion into respective holes 16 defined in the board 17. Said insertion ends 13A and 13B comprise crimped portions 19A and 19B, respectively, for abutting against hole surfaces to provide necessary retention force during the soldering operation of the plurality of terminal pins. However, the terminal ends 13A, 13B are flat and thin, and they tend to float under high temperature during soldering or assembly, resulting in an insufficient retention force being provide between the terminal pins of the header 1 and the board 17.
Hence, a pin header with an improved stabilizer is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a header connector having stabilizing means for preventing the header from rocking or floating during a soldering process attaching the header to a printed circuit board.
A header connector in accordance with the present invention is adapted for being mounted onto a printed circuit board. The header includes a dielectric housing and a single row of terminal pins held in the housing. Each terminal pin forms a contact portion for contacting a terminal of a mating connector and a tail portion for vertically soldering into a first hole defined in the board. The contact portion and the tail portion project beyond the top and bottom faces of the housing, respectively. The housing forms at least one boardlock and a stabilizer bar on a lateral side thereof. The boardlock forms a pair of legs for being interferingly inserted into a second hole defined in the printed circuit board. Each leg forms a barb at a tip end thereof for abutting against a bottom surface of the board for preventing the housing from rocking toward a side opposite the lateral side of the housing. The stabilizer bar has a bottom surface abutting against a top surface of the board for preventing the housing from rocking toward the lateral side of the housing. Therefore, the housing is securely stabilized on the printed circuit board, allowing the terminal pins to be correctly soldered to the printed circuit board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.